The present invention relates to a color printing apparatus capable of starting printing of a color image at an optional color segment of an ink ribbon used therein.
Color printers are well known in the art. Some of the color printers selectively perform a printing operation in a multicolor mode and a monocolor mode by using an ink ribbon. The ink ribbon includes a substrate film and a color layer formed on the substrate film. The color layer has a plurality of color blocks each of which includes a plurality of color segments arranged in a predetermined order, generally yellow, magenta and cyan colors.
Such color printers operable in the multicolor and monocolor modes are designed to print, in the multicolor mode, the color segments of each color block one by one on a sheet in one cycle of the printing operation. In a case where the printing operation is interrupted or stopped in the cycle upon occurrence of an emergent trouble or problem, the printlink operation restarts generally at a given color segment, for instance a yellow color segment of the next color block after feeding the ink ribbon. Thus, the next one or two color segments such as magenta and cyan color segments are not subjected to printing on the sheet.
Alternatively, in such a condition, a restart of the subsequent printing operation must wait until all the color segments of the color block are subjected to printing.
On the other hand, in the monocolor mode, only one or two given color segments of the color block are used for the printing operation.
In a case where the printing operation in the monocolor mode is changed to that in the multicolor mode, the printing operation is started from the yellow color segment of the next color block after feeding the ink ribbon. Accordingly, it is also unavoidable that the next one or two color segments are prevented from being printed on the sheet.